But when I know that the glass is already broken, every minute with it is precious.
Interpretation
Understanding the impermanence of things makes us value our time with them more.
Ajahn Chah's quote reflects on the nature of impermanence and the importance of appreciating moments as they come. By acknowledging that everything is transient, including our experiences and relationships, we learn to cherish the time we have, making each moment more meaningful, even if it is destined to end.
In practice
In a speech about mindfulness at a corporate retreat, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of valuing the present moment.
Once you understand non-self, then the burden of life is gone. You'll be at peace with the world. When we see beyond self, we no longer cling to happiness and we can truly be happy. Learn to let go without struggle, simply let go, to be just as you are - no holding on, no attachment, free.
When sitting in meditation, say, "That's not my business!" with every thought that comes by.
If you haven't wept deeply, you haven't begun to meditate.
To observe and watch one's own mind is something really interesting. The untrained mind will run and follow its old habit patterns. Because it has not been trained and taught, it will get lost in all kinds of stories and issues. Therefore we have to train our mind. The meditation practice in Buddhism is all about training one's own mind.
Meditation is like a single log of wood. Insight and investigation are one end of the log; calm and concentration are the other end. If you lift up the whole log, both sides come up at once. Which is concentration and which is insight? Just this mind.
The heart is just the heart; thoughts and feelings are just thoughts and feelings. Let things be just as they are.
Knowledge born of the finest discrimination takes us to the farthest shore. It is intuitive, omniscient, and beyond all divisions of time and space.
Once someone has spent enough time cultivating bad habits and biding their time, they are much diminished. Much of what they could have been has dissipated.
When we're awake in our bodies and sense, the world comes alive. Wisdom, creativity, and love are discovered as we relax and awaken through our bodies.
As long as you are unable to access the power of the Now, every emotional pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain that lives on in you.
It can be dangerous to weaken the strong in our attempts to strengthen the weak.
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.
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